Surfactant-Driven Dynamic Changes in Rheology of Activated Carbon Slurry Electrodes.

Carbon black slurry electrodes are an effective means to improve flow battery performance by increasing the active surface area necessary for electrochemical reactions with a cost-effective material. Current challenges with this specific flow battery chemistry include the stability and flowability of the carbon black suspensions, especially in response to formulation choices. Advancing the manufacturing, operation, and performance of these redox flow batteries requires a deeper understanding of how slurry formulation impacts its rheological profile and ultimately battery performance.

Surfactant induced catastrophic collapse of carbon black suspensions used in flow battery application.

Hypothesis: Carbon black particles act as electronically conductive additives in the slurry electrodes used in electrochemical redox flow batteries. Modifying the carbon black slurry formulation with the addition of a nonionic surfactant could impart improved particle dispersion, gravitational stability, and flowability leading to better battery performance.

Experiments: Carbon black particles were dispersed in 1 M HSO with volume fractions Φ = 0.

Laccase-mimicking Mn-Cu hybrid nanoflowers for paper-based visual detection of phenolic neurotransmitters and rapid degradation of dyes.

Background: Laccase-based biosensors are efficient for detecting phenolic compounds. However, the instability and high cost of laccases have hindered their practical utilization.

Results: In this study, we developed hierarchical manganese dioxide-copper phosphate hybrid nanoflowers (H-Mn-Cu NFs) as excellent laccase-mimicking nanozymes.

Sphingomonas humi sp. nov., isolated from soil.

A gram-negative, non-motile, non-spore-forming, small, orange, rod-shaped bacterium was isolated from soil in South Korea and characterized to determine its taxonomic position. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence examination revealed that strain PB323(T) belongs to the family Sphingomonadaceae. The highest degree of sequence similarity was found with Sphingomonas kaistensis PB56(T) (98.

Variovorax ginsengisoli sp. nov., a denitrifying bacterium isolated from soil of a ginseng field.

A Gram-negative, aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, non-spore-forming, motile, rod-shaped bacterium (strain Gsoil 3165(T)) was isolated from soil of a ginseng field in Pocheon, South Korea. Its taxonomic position was determined by using a polyphasic approach. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain Gsoil 3165(T) was shown to belong to the family Comamonadaceae, class Betaproteobacteria, and was related most closely to the type strains of Variovorax boronicumulans (98.

The Usefulness of Rectified VEMP.

Objectives: For a reliable interpretation of left-right difference in Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP), the amount of sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) contraction has to be considered. Therefore, we can ensure that a difference in amplitude between the right and left VEMPs on a patient is due to vestibular abnormality, not due to individual differences of tonic muscle activity, fatigue or improper position. We used rectification to normalize electromyograph (EMG) based on pre-stimulus EMG activity.

Can magnetic resonance imaging provide clues to the inner ear functional status of enlarged vestibular aqueduct subjects with PDS mutation?

Objectives: The goal of this study was to characterize the signal intensity (SI) pattern in the endolymphatic duct/sac from T2-weighted spin echo magnetic resonance (MR) images and T2*-weighted 3-dimensional (3-D) constructive interference in steady state (CISS) MR images that were obtained from a homogenous group of patients with an enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) associated with SLC264 (PDS) mutations.

Study Design: A retrospective study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Improvement of atopic dermatitis in NC/Nga mice by topical application of CpG phosphodiester-ODN.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with pruritic and eczematous lesions characterized by increased total IgE level, inflammatory cell infiltration, and the elevated expression of Th2 cytokines. Synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides containing unmethylated CpG dinucleotides are known to have immunostimulatory activities in mice and to convert from Th2 to Th1 immune responses in AD. Previous work has shown clinical effectiveness of CpG phosphorothioate-ODN in AD mice model.

Anxiolytic effects of the aqueous extract of Uncaria rhynchophylla.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the putative anxiolytic-like effects of the aqueous extract of hooks with stem of Uncaria rhynchophylla using the elevated plus maze (EPM) and the hole-board apparatus in rats and mice. Control rats were treated with an equal volume of saline, and positive control rats with buspirone (1 mg/kg). Single or repeated treatments of the aqueous extract of Uncaria rhynchophylla (200 mg/kg/day, p.

Potent inhibitory effects of N-aryl S-alkylthiocarbamate derivatives on the dopa oxidase activity of mushroom tyrosinase.

This study reports the potent inhibitory effect of N-aryl S-alkylthiocarbamate derivatives on mushroom tyrosinase (MT) activity. N-Aryl S-alkylthiocarbamate derivatives were found to exhibit a potent inhibitory effect on the dopa (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) oxidase activity of mushroom tyrosinase. Most of the N-aryl S-alkylthiocarbamate derivatives (compounds from A to J) exhibited higher inhibitory effects than kojic acid (IC50=318 microM), a well known tyrosinase inhibitor.

Ethyl acetate soluble fraction of Cnidium officinale MAKINO inhibits neuronal cell death by reduction of excessive nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-treated rat hippocampal slice cultures and microglia cells.

In the present work, we found that the ethyl acetate-soluble fraction of Cnidium officinale MAKINO (COEA) decreased nitric oxide (NO) production in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV-2 and primary microglia and suppressed expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in BV-2 cells with the same pattern of NO production. In addition, we showed that excessive NO production played an important role in neuronal cell death in LPS-treated rat hippocampal slice cultures. Our data suggest that the COEA inhibits neuronal cell death by reduction of excessive NO production in LPS-treated rat hippocampal slice cultures.

Neuroprotection by methanol extract of Uncaria rhynchophylla against global cerebral ischemia in rats.

In traditional Oriental medicine, Uncaria rhynchophylla has been used to lower blood pressure and to relieve various neurological symptoms. However, scientific evidence related to its effectiveness or precise modes of action has not been available. Thus, in the current study, we evaluated neuroprotective effects of U.